dop
4:48 pm on July 19th, 2007
Andy Dick is a shity dad.
Annie143
1:20 pm on July 22nd, 2007
I was shocked and sadden when I read about this young boy. Every one at the memorial service spoke about what a sweet child he was…..where were they when he needed help. So many people in his young life were uneasy about Chandler or had been a part of his life, and, no one bothered to find about him after he went to that house of horror.
I read the article about his mother saying she was going to fight for the other boy. For what ? So he could end up like Chandler ? Why didnt she straighten up to begin with. I pray the courts will not give the other boy back to her.
This death has touched me deeply and I do not intend to walk away and forget Chandler. There is not much around about it so, anything you post will be appreciated. I have spoken with the news sources there and found out the July 11 preliminary hearing has been postponed until August.
On another board, someone said they had know the murderer Jon in years past and his family had always gotten him out of trouble….was wondering if anyone has any insight into his background.
Keep this precious little boys memory alive or the murderers will get probation.
Thank you.
Morbid
5:44 pm on July 22nd, 2007
Annie143, if you find any info on Jon, please post and let me know. I was curious as to how this couple were able to abuse this boy for so long without anyone, aside from the school, taking notice. Surely these two had friends and family. I cannot imagine they were hermits.
Cari
4:37 pm on July 24th, 2007
This is too horrible to believe. Look at his sweet little face. How could someone do that.
And poor Dominick. He will grow up feeling like he let his brother down — but it was not his fault.
Poor babies.
Lewis
10:31 am on September 26th, 2007
So what–that’s only one of probably tens-of-thousands of little kids that die every year–just ask the “Social Service’s” they’ll even tell you that!
Now here’s where I, well, we all should be seeing a really big problem–especially when we see the story about the people at Social Services who had [after the child had died] CLAIMED that they had been told that Chandler was “Being Home Schooled”, and the Story was very clear that THE PEOPLE WHO COULD HAVE SAVED THAT BOYS LIFE, AND THE PEOPLE WHO WERE GETTING PAID TO SAVE THAT BOYS LIFE,SPENT FAR MOR TIME IN “LYING” ABOUT WHAT IT WAS THAT THEY HAD “GOTTEN PAID TO DO!!!”–Now that really upsets me, as it should all of us!
It wouldn’t be fair to say that every Social Worker is “Bad”, but if we really think about it, we only hear (as if it’s an EXCUSE that we should “Just Live With”) how they have un-imaginable “Cases” that they investigate every year.
If this is true, than why is it that we only hear about [their--the Social Worker's Problems] AFTER it becomes apparent that they had [Not Done What they had been getting paid to do--AS THEIR ONLY POSSIBLE EXCUSE]???
Why is it that we only hear about [their] Problems AFTER, for instance, “A Child had died”-and who knows how many “Stories Like That” happen every day, and we don’t hear about them Simply don’t make “Front-Page-News”
Like the last report that I had seen said; there was ABSOLUTELY NO EXCUSE for Chandler Grafner to have died–especially in the Unimaginable way which he did.
If the people who were GETTING PAID TO PROTECT THAT CHILD were willing to EXCEPT PAYMENT FOR IGNORING THAT CHILDS NEEDS to the extent that it cost him his life, then why is it that they should not be FORCED TO EXCEPT PUNISHMENT FOR [NOT] DOING WHAT THEY HAD [GOTTEN PAID TO DO]???
Call me crazy, but the only way that I can see that Problems like that can possibly be solved is for PUNISHMENT TO BE GIVEN when “Violations are so clear”, othewise, those who are getting paid “to do their Job”, will have “no reason to do their Job”.
As one women had commented about Chandler’s little brother “growing up feeling like it was his fault”,I really don’t think that that will happen. Considering how smart the child was in helping the police figure out that mess, I really think that more than likely, that kid’s going grow up realizing that that was not [his] fault,and either he’ll become some kind of “Criminal”, or if he tries to place blame on those who deserve to be blamed, they’ll simply be able to have him declared “mentally disturbed” or something like that.
Like the story had shown where the representative from the Human Services office had straight out lied has already shown, people like that aren’t going to except any responsibility for their actions [and lack of actions]until they’re FORCED TO!
Now is that a “Call to Arms!” or what?
Even if it is only [partly] true that the Civil Servants (or whatever] are so grossly short-handed, then why is it that we only hear about it WHEN THERE IS CLEAR-CUT EVIDENCE that shows that they themselves [Did]“Do something wrong”, and they have no other way to cover for their own “Crimes” committed?
Annie143
10:59 am on September 26th, 2007
Thank you for the post above. The best I have seen on any website. It is a call to arms, I wish more would respond so.
A poster on the Denver Post forum layed out the responsiblities of each county so clearly and where they are denying all responsibility. I wish I could find it and post it here.
Morbid
11:03 am on September 26th, 2007
Thanks for the post, Lewis. Annie143, I saw the same post and was going to post it here awhile back. I’ll see if I can track it down. I am not sure if it was accurate, but it was a well written breakdown.
Annie143
11:12 am on September 26th, 2007
[quote]
——————————————————————————–
I guess what really disturbs me is the reaction of the three spokeswomen Roxane White from Denver Human Services, Lynn Johnson from Jefferson County Human Services and Karen Beye of the Colorado DHS, as reported in this article.
If Ms. White herself does not believe that the revised policies that she is implementing would have been effective in helping save Chandler then perhaps Ms. White should either go back to the drawing board and come up with some policies that will work or else step aside. Chandler’s situation is unique only in that the media has picked up on this poor child’s nightmare of a life and have done a very thorough job of bringing the horrors of child abuse and neglect into this community’s consciousness. I applaud the media for not letting this story fade from the headlines. But Chandler’s story is by no means an aberration and if the revised policies that Denver DHS came up with could not have saved Chandler, in Ms. White’s opinion, than they probably will not work for any other child who is currently suffering as Chandler did. Again, I would ask Ms. White to seriously give it another shot or else step aside and perhaps give someone else a chance to come up with some policy changes that could help avert another atrocity.
Ms. Johnson’s statement that “many things were done right in this case” and that the county uncovered no indication that Chandler was in danger is beyond belief. It appears to me that there is next to nothing that they did do right. It would seem to me that at the very least they could have updated Chandler’s information in the TRAILS system and followed up with the school’s concerns regarding Chandler’s bruises. The school appears to be the only organization involved in this child’s life that followed procedure and actually made the effort to get Chandler the help he needed. Its too bad that the only agencies they could appeal to could not provide the same level of competence. What was most offensive to me was Ms. Johnson’s stating that they feel great horror over Chandler’s tragedy and how devastated they are over at Jefferson County Human Services. Of course they feel that way, we all do in this community, any normal human being would. But there were warning signs aplenty going on throughout this child’s life that a blind man could have seen and no amount of hand wringing on Ms. Johnson’s part is going to change the fact that her department failed dismally and that Chandler Grafner is one of many children who have paid the price for that incompetence in one way or another. There was such a strong pattern of abuse and neglect in this child’s life that its still hard for me to fathom how they could have missed it. I guess I just don’t understand the benchmark of abuse and neglect that needed to be acheived that would have qualified him to be totally removed from the so called caretakers who unfortunately made up his world.
Ms. Beye’s belief that there are probably a number of things that could have been done to prevent his death has got to go down as one of the understatements of the century. These agencies appear to have had processes and procedures in place that were inadequate at best and I’m sure that they, more than anyone else, realized that fact. Chandler is not the first child known to “the system” to die and I’m sure they must have been aware of this. The people working in the child welfare system from caseworkers to department heads must have noticed that the system was flawed and has been so for a long time – that there were breakdowns/gaps in communicating information, inadequate resources in personnel and money and that the procedures that they themselves implemented were not being followed. My question is that if the system is so terribly broken why was this not communicated in such a manner that real effective change could be implemented? If more money is needed then vigorously lobby the state and federal governments for more money. If we as a community need to help or take on a more watchdog role inform us how we can do that. If internal processes and procedures are not working or not being followed then change the procedures and train your people more thoroughly. Is it going to be easy, of course not. But what other alternative do we have?
To be fair I’m sure that most people involved in the child welfare system honestly want to help and protect children. I’m also equally sure that the caseloads are so overwhelming and resources stretched so thin that the task seems impossible and frankly I believe it is impossible under the current conditions. There is something seriously, horribly broken with the child protective system that we currently have in place and unfortunately it took the brutal death of a 7 year old boy to finally make us sit up and take notice. Of course it is not a simple undertaking and no magic wand is going to fix the system overnight, just as no magic wand is going to change the fact that an innocent little boy wasted away on a closet floor. The ultimate tragedy is that Chandler’s death was 7 years in the making under the eyes of agencies who existed to protect him.
No, child protective services did not kill Chandler. Jon Phillips and Sarah Berry for reasons I will never even begin to fathom bear that responsibilty for which I hope they pay the ultimate price. In my opinion they were aided and abetted by worthless biological parents and the families that produced such wastrels. But child protective services alone had the power to rescue him and they failed to do that, not once but many times-”getinvolved” on a Denver Post reader forum.[/quote]I will try and find URL.
Annie143
11:14 am on September 26th, 2007
I wish I had the brains to have written the above. “get involved” and Lewis summed it up very well.
Thank you both.
Morbid
12:19 pm on September 26th, 2007
The employee who headed the Denver Department of Human Services child-abuse intake section when 7-year-old Chandler Grafner died has been moved to a different position while the city conducts an investigation of procedures leading up to the death, documents show.
Margaret Booker, who headed the Investigation of Child Maltreatment and Intake Services, was moved Sept. 11 to the department’s Resources Section, according to an e-mail written by Family and Children’s Services Division director Allen Pollack.
“(T)hese changes may or may not be permanent and an ongoing internal investigation is continuing that could result in additional changes, and disciplinary action,” Pollack wrote in the e-mail obtained under state open-records laws.
Booker declined comment Friday, directing questions to the department spokeswoman.
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_6972546
Annie143
11:04 am on September 28th, 2007
[quote]Right time for review
Two tragic deaths spark needed look at Denver Human Services
September 28, 2007
The Denver Department of Human Services does a lot of wonderful work, but in the past year it has twice failed to save the lives of children despite warning lights that were a blinding red.
The warnings were so compelling, in fact, that it’s reasonable to ask whether the agency has fumbled other cases with equally glaring danger signs – not to mention cases in which the perceived threat was real but not quite so stark.
On Thursday, department manager Roxane White essentially acknowledged these concerns when she called on outside experts to review everything from “hotline calls, investigations of allegations of abuse or neglect, voluntary services, filing of dependency and neglect petitions, and follow-up services to children and families.”
The agency had begun a self-assessment earlier this month when it reassigned the person in charge of Child Maltreatment and Intake Services pending an internal investigation. But this week’s move is more likely to guarantee a much needed top- to-bottom review.
It’s hard to understand, for example, how Human Services last year could have left 3-year-old Niveah Gallegos marooned with a mother who refused to cooperate with officials after they came to suspect her boyfriend had molested the little girl. Yet that is apparently what happened.
Not only was the boyfriend, 22-year-old Angel Montoya, a suspect of the alleged abuse, he is a registered sex offender with an alarming record.
Now he is the suspect in an even worse crime: Niveah’s murder.
Denver’s Channel 7 has reported that Human Services not only closed the case in January but concluded that the abuse allegations were unfounded. If so, that would be troubling enough in its own right. Why close a case in which the mother may have been involved in the coverup of her own daughter’s abuse, even if charges were out of the question?
At the time, however, the department was involved in another case in which it reached an equally unwarranted conclusion – one confirmed and criticized last month in a report issued by the state itself.
We’re referring, of course, to the tragic case of 7-year-old Chandler Grafner, who was imprisoned in a closet and starved to death.
The Colorado Department of Human Services’s child fatality review gives some sense of why a conclusion of “unfounded” was so beyond the pale last February in Chandler’s case.
“The second referral to \[Human Services],” according to the state, “came as a result of a report made by staff from a Denver Public School . . . The report from the school stated that they had noticed a bruise on Chandler’s ear and a bruise on his neck. Chandler reportedly told the teacher that his dad, Jon Phillips, had slapped him while he was in the shower and smacked his neck. Chandler also reported not having attended school on Jan. 16 because of these alleged injuries.”
Chandler later changed his story to agree with Phillips’ version of events, frustrating the probe by social workers and police. But at the very least, as the state noted, “The facts . . . should have led the Denver Department of Human Services caseworkers to a conclusion of ‘inconclusive’ or ‘founded’ for abuse or neglect, given the credible report of abuse by Chandler to the school and one law enforcement officer and a documented injury indicative of non-accidental trauma.”
By the way, don’t for a moment think the state was being unduly harsh with Denver. In fact, its report was peculiarly mild in at least one important respect. In the litany of missteps by three different counties that it recounts in Chandler’s case, the state neglects to include Denver’s failure to act in April after Chandler’s school once again called to express concern about his welfare, this time noting that he’d been missing from class for weeks.
Given Chandler’s history, and what should have been considered a credible allegation of abuse in January, you’d think Human Services would at least have made some attempt to check on his welfare. Instead, it failed to launch an investigation.
This failure is surprising enough. But no less surprising is that the state didn’t single out this instance of official torpor in its August report. We’re not entirely reassured to hear, therefore, that the state will be among those conducting the review of Denver’s practices, along with experts from the Annie E. Casey Foundation and the Kempe Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Child Abuse and Neglect.
So no soft-pedaling the findings this time, please. As events of recent days confirm, there’s way too much at stake.[/quote] Finally, may be some good will come of this poor childs suffering and death.
Annie143
11:07 am on September 28th, 2007
Folks, as you can tell, I am not much good and linking and quotes so, any help will be appreciated as the proper way to do it. This story is so heartbreaking to me.I have a skinny little grandson with big ears and big eyes and I know I have lost my objectivity with Chandler’s story. But, so be it.
Morbid
1:00 pm on September 29th, 2007
Annie, while I would enver persuade anyone NOT to use these comments, I would suggest signing up to the forums and post there.
The official thread for this case is here:
http://www.dreamindemon.com/forums/showthread.php?p=4299
keeper1
4:57 pm on August 12th, 2008
Oh my god. I was absolutely heartbroken and crying reading this. How could someone do this to a child. What is happening to this world.
WryBread
4:57 pm on August 12th, 2008
It seems as soon as the parents are uncooperative enough, the caseworkers just go away. How do these people live with themselves? I guess the stupid and indifferent survive very well by taking their paychecks and doing the minimum. My sympathy to those good workers who have to deal with these drones and watch them neglect kids.
I also think these stories are about families being out of touch with each other — this couple had no relatives who were interested in the boys? No one visiting, no friends who noticed that a closet contained a kid or that a skinny, starving kid was begging for food?
I feel so sorry for the children who suffer in the hands of these monsters — both the parents and genital-parent-replacement-steps and the “professionals” who only want their paycheck.
pam tatman
3:46 pm on August 13th, 2008
I cried every time I read what they did to that poor baby. How can a child not be “good enough” to be fed, much less loved. What that poor child endured, and his little brother having to watch it. I feel so for the little brother, he will need counciling for this for a long, long time.
I am so glad that the jury found Jon Phillips guilty. I am also glad that the girl friend took a plea bargain, and owned up to what her part was. That at least spares the brother from having to testify again. Why did they do this? Why couldn’t they have told Social Services that they didn’t want the little Chandler? Why didn’t the courts give the two brothers to their maternal grandmother instead of to the father of the younger child, and the fathers girl friend? Why do the courts think that grandparents don’t have any rights in their grandchildrens lives? Why didn’t the courts seek out the father of Chandler, or his parents, to give Chandler to? It isn’t just Social Services, our courts are also to blame. The courts, and the various protective agencies worry more about parents rights than what happens to the child. I think that the whole Social Sevices department need overhauled, and a good many of the supervisors should either be fired, or demoted, and made to go back to school, should be made to visit the emergancy rooms, schools, and homes to verify first hand the reports that they receive. They should actually investigate reports, and follow up on them. And they should be able to take any children that are found to be abused out of the abusive situation then and there, not after the child is DEAD!!!! And in this case, maybe the Social Services personnel should be prosecuted as well!!
Not So Speechless
4:26 pm on August 13th, 2008
*sob*

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